Posing in front of the former Grant School on Sept. 7 are, left to right, Graham Patterson, Millie Patterson, Geoffrey Sharpe, Veronica McGuire and Roland Reebs. The school has been vacant for a decade. Patrick Doyle/PostmediaPatrick Doyle

A non-profit group struggling to transform an old school on Richmond Road into a community centre for francophones has a new plan to complete the project after years of delays, rising costs and fund-raising troubles.

The city and provincial governments have spent $6.196 million on the project since Grant School was closed a decade ago, but today the stately brick heritage building is boarded up, with renovations halted more than a year ago after the non-profit group ran out of money.

Now the group says it has a way to rescue its Maison de la francophonie d’Ottawa project: the French public school board has joined as a partner. The board has agreed to take ownership of the property, finish the renovations and build a new gym/community room with a kitchen in return for using some of the space.

If it works out, the French school board will get a new adult high school and the francophone community will have its long-awaited community centre.

The plan, however, will require $9 million more in government funds, the partners say. The school board has requested that amount from the province for construction costs, said Linda Savard, president of the Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario.

The plan also requires the City of Ottawa to agree that Grant school can be transferred from the ownership of the non-profit group to the school board for $1.

It’s a natural partnership for the school board, Savard said. The board has no adult high school in the west end and had already planned to rent space in the Maison de la francophonie building for that purpose, she said. The board also supports the idea of a francophone community hub, she said.

The school board has the expertise in construction and property management to complete the project, said Ronald Bisson, spokesman for the board of the non-profit group Centre Multiservices Francophone de l’Ouest d’Ottawa (CMFO).

The city councillor for the ward, Mark Taylor, supports the idea. One reason the non-profit group has run into trouble is that it’s a complicated project run by volunteers, he said.

Ronald Bisson, spokesman for the non-profit group that has been trying to establish a community centre for francophones in the city’s west end, and Linda Savard, president of the French public school board for eastern Ontario. Jacquie Miller photo

Many of the neighbours around Grant School are skeptical, to put it kindly. They use phrases like fiasco, boondoggle and money pit to describe the project, and they are upset about the derelict building. This summer, unidentified individuals broke into the school and the annex attached to it. Security patrols are being increased, and a wooden fence was recently erected along Richmond Road in front of the property.

“This place was supposed to be operational years ago and all we see is a boarded-up school with a fence around it,” said Roland Reebs, who owns two houses on a nearby street. “The confidence we have in the whole project is zero. On the other hand, anything can be finished if you put enough money into it.”

The uncertainty affects property values, he said. “Do I stay here? Do I sell? How will this affect my lifestyle?” He worries about vandalism and the risk of fire. “If somebody puts it on fire, it may not be just the building that goes up in flames.”

Reebs is one of a group of about 30 residents who keep tabs on the project. It’s not easy to get information about what is going on, creating mistrust, they say. Some of them question the need for a francophone community centre and others doubt the ability of the non-profit group to manage it.

Geoffrey Sharpe is outraged by the proposal to transfer ownership of Grant School from CMFO to the French school board for $1. “Ha ha, what nerve!” he said. “The City of Ottawa is not in the business of giving a property worth more than $2 million to a school board that didn’t show the slightest interest in (buying) the property when it was for sale.”

The city is involved because it bought Grant School in 2008 for the non-profit group to develop a community centre. The school was declared surplus by the Ottawa-Carleton English public school board in 2007.

The city bought the school and 5.1 acres of surrounding land for $3.94 million and divided it into two parcels.

The section containing the school, Parcel A, then worth $1.94 million, was transferred to CMFO for the community centre. CMFO cannot now transfer that property to the French school board for $1 without the approval of city council.

Sharpe and other neighbours say the city should take back the school and either sell the property for commercial development, like condos, or hold it for a future community use.

Under the original agreement, the portion of land at the back of the school property, Parcel B, was to be sold to CMFO for $2 million to develop a seniors housing co-op and long-term care facility. Those ideas didn’t pan out, though, so the city still owns that land.

The school board now says it wants to buy Parcel B from the city to build a gym/community room/kitchen as part of the adult high school. The board is discussing the idea with city staff, Savard said. Taylor says the school board would have to pay market price for that portion of the land.

Both Bisson and Taylor say the latest plan respects the original intention of the city’s investment: to create a community centre.

“It’s the exact same concept,” Bisson said. “The only thing that’s changing is the ownership of the building, the landlord.”

In fact, the community centre will have more space because the school board has agreed that community groups will be able to use the gym during off hours, he said.

Details of what groups will rent space and the “governance model” still have to be worked out. There will be a daycare, Savard said. The community centre could include services for seniors and youths, employment help, health care and cultural activities.

Bisson and Savard are confident they’ll have no problem finding tenants, saying several community groups that wanted to rent space back in 2010 are still interested.

The school board declined to provide a copy of the agreement with CMFO, but said it was a “long-term” deal. It was approved at an in-camera meeting because it involved property negotiations. The school board has agreed to continue to allow community groups to rent space in the building, Savard said.

Since the agreement with CMFO was signed in October 2016, the school board has paid to maintain the boarded-up building at a cost of $30,000 a month.

That, too, has caused eye-brow raising among neighbours. Why should the school board pay for a building it doesn’t own in the hope the project will eventually be completed? wonders Graham Patterson. “That is money for chalk — if they still use chalk — and notebooks that won’t be spent because it’s being thrown away on Grant School.”

The Grant School project has experienced numerous delays since the city approved the community centre plan in 2010.

When construction finally began in the spring of 2015, workers discovered more asbestos than anticipated and unexpected structural problems. By 2016, Bisson warned the $4.2-million renovation of the school could need an extra $3 million.

Construction was eventually halted when the group ran out of money.

Fundraising efforts, including a campaign launched in 2015 and co-chaired by Ottawa Chief of Police Charles Bordeleau, faltered.

The group had initially hoped to raise about $2 million, but so far has collected $400,000, Bisson said.

Nearly another $1 million had been pledged, but the CMFO told those donors it expected to be able to issue charitable tax receipts. Then Revenue Canada denied the group charitable status because of its role as a landlord.

“That put an end to the fundraising,” Bisson said. The pledges were never collected.

Bisson says he understands why neighbours are frustrated, but is confident the project will be completed. He dreams of the building and the gorgeous land around it being used for everything from summer camps to concerts. “When it’s done it will be a beautiful project. We will respect the environment, we will respect the heritage property, and the neighbours will be pleased and proud.”

He volunteers about 20 hours a week working for Maison de la francophonie d’Ottawa, Bisson said.

“You know the difference between a pitbull and the Franco-Ontarian community?” he asked. “Eventually, the pit bull gets tired and gives up.”

$6.596 million: Total collected so far from government and private donations

$9 million: Amount the school board and non-profit group say is needed to complete construction

The former Grant Public School has been vacant for the past 10 years. Wayne Cuddington/PostmediaWayne Cuddington /
Postmedia

Grant School & the francophone community centre: a timeline

2005: A feasibility study commissioned by community groups and funded by a $35,000 grant from the Canadian Heritage Department recommends a francophone community centre be built in the west end of Ottawa. The study, by consultant Ronald Bisson, suggests an $8-million project that could include a bookstore, caisse populaire, health centre, day-care centre, job classes for refugees, a gym and perhaps a performing arts centre.

2005: An Ontario government Trillium Foundation grant of $50,000 is awarded to the Centre multiservices de l’Ouest d’Ottawa (CMFO) for a fund-raising campaign to raise $2 million. The group estimates it needs $6 million in grants from the municipal, provincial and federal governments. At that time, the location was unknown.

2007: The public English-language public school board declares Grant School on Richmond Road, which had been open since the early 1920s, surplus.

2008: The city buys Grant School and 5.1 acres of property for $3.94 million with the intention of making it available to CMFO.

2010: City council approved details of the transfer to CMFO of the portion of the site containing the school, Parcel A, worth $1.94 million, for the community centre. Plans include leasing just less than half the space to La Cité Collégiale for a school and daycare and a family health centre. Other potential tenants include Centre communautaire Franc-Ouest, Ami Jeunesse, Centre Soleil d’Ottawa Ouest, Action Logement, a dental clinic and a caisse populaire.

The CMFO was to buy the rear portion of the site, Parcel B, for $2 million, to develop 100-units of co-op housing for seniors and a 117-bed long-term care facility to be built in partnership with Montfort Hospital and Revera.

The city report noted that the feasibility of the community centre was “marginal in the long term” unless the CMFO was allowed to develop the rear portion of the property.

The deal was to close Jan. 31, 2014.

2011: The province gives a $4-million grant to the group for construction.

2012: A community meeting was held to unveil plans for the community centre, which a CMFO official said they wanted to open by January 2013.

2013: The province awards a Trillium Foundation grant of $256,000 to install an elevator, help the CMFO undertake fundraising and pay for a project development officer.

January 2014: CMFO tells the city it cannot purchase the rear part of the property as originally planned. The plan for seniors housing was not funded by the city, and provincial changes to funding for long-term care facilities prompted the CMFO to withdraw that project.

March 2015: The CMFO agreement with the city is amended again. Bidding for construction was $850,000 more the group budgeted, so CMFO planned to take out a mortgage. If CMFO defaulted on the mortgage, that would represent a potential liability of $850,000 to the city, since the city would have to pay any outstanding mortgage to regain the property. (The mortgage was never taken out.) The community centre is given the name Maison de la francophonie.

March 2015: Plans are announced for a $1.5-million fundraising campaign, chaired by Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau and lawyer Ronald Caza.

May 2015: Construction begins, and the centre is expected to be open before the end of the year, the Citizen reports.

June 2016: Spiralling costs and the failure to get charitable status have stalled the project, the Citizen reports. If organizers can’t find more money, they will have to abandon the project, CMFO president Ronald Bisson says. Renovations, originally pegged at $4.2 million, may cost an extra $3 million because there was more asbestos in the building than expected and there were unexpected structural problems.

October 2016: CMFO makes an agreement with the French public school board, which agrees to become a partner in the project. The plan: CMFO will transfer property of Grant School on Parcel A to the school board for $1, a transaction that would require approval by city council. The school board would buy Parcel B from the city in order to build a gym/community room/kitchen. The school board would become the landlord, use some of the space for an adult high school, and rent space for the community centre.

Spring 2017: The school board and CMFO approach the province to request $9 million to finish construction on the project.

September 2017: The partners have not yet heard from the province about funding.

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